The Willows Cricket Club Dinner

E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi o nga hau e wha; tena koutou katoa. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, greetings to you all.

I specifically acknowledge: Christine Leighton, Rector of St Andrews’ College; Sir John Hansen, President of The Willows Cricket Club; Trevor Barber, the oldest living NZ cricket representative present this evening, and the members of the two teams: my Youth XI and the Willows Past New Zealand XI.

It is a great pleasure for Janine and me to be here at St Andrew’s College this evening for this dinner preceding tomorrow’s cricket match at the Willows’ Ground. The prospect of the Governor-General’s Youth XI versus The Willows Past New Zealand XI is appealing.

This is the first time I have had the pleasure of being present for the “last supper” before the game.   It seems there is an air of anticipation.  There is an opportunity to get to know your opposition, to forge friendships across the team and age divide, before the competition begins, and to enjoy each others’ company.

I am an archetypical New Zealander. I like a competition and I am keen to see my side win. To that end I thought I would seek some wisdom.  There were two sources that sprung to mind.  Given the English are touring at the moment, I wondered if they might be helpful - not this team but an earlier team certainly provided a useful insight.  And also I thought I might get inspiration from the example of a previous Governor-General, the Lord Cobham, who filled the role from 1957-1963. Cobham had a connection to Canterbury, so he came in on that score as well. 

Cobham was an accomplished cricketer.  He played county cricket for Worcestershire and toured New Zealand in 1936 with an MCC team.  His best bowling figures were 4 – 83 against South Africa, and 162 against Leicestershire. In 1961, while Governor-General, Cobham led his invitation XI in a match against a visiting MCC side in Auckland, more than two decades after his last first-class appearance.  He proved his skill with a first-innings 44 from number ten in the order!

I sense some concern with my XI players, you need not worry, I’m not going to take all of this literally and be a “surprise” guest player tomorrow so rest easy.  I am conscious of my cricketing ability (or inability beyond the backyard), I offer comments as a Governor-General.  And as Cobham once remarked:
“I sometimes think that a Governor-General has much in common with a wicket-keeper.  When on duty, he is dressed somewhat differently from the rest of the side; if the rest of the players are good, his powers are purely residuary; and nobody really notices him until he makes a mistake.” 

I’m not intending to make any mistakes tonight, or tomorrow, and to aid in that goal I shall keep my comments brief.
On reflecting on my own youth and sport, I recall playing a lot of sport. Like many New Zealanders of my generation, I was brought up on a sporting diet of rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer. However, after missing out on selection at Intermediate, cricket was never my first sport of choice to play.  I let playing cricket go although it has stayed with me as an interest, and these days I much prefer to watch the game than play it.

Harking back to Lord Cobham, he also said that the game of cricket is played with your opponents, not against them. Perhaps that is why it is called the gentleman’s game.

Cricket, in all its forms, is both a fascinating and an exciting game.  It combines individual athletic prowess and skills with leadership, strategy and team work in a way that few other games can match.

So then, looking to tomorrow’s game, what insights did I get?  I thought the Willows XI might consider what the 1864 English team’s example.  That team let Otago field 22 players - one of their bowlers boasted figures of 15 for 30!  Or the example of WC Grace and Tarrant who together played an Otago XI and made 8 in their first innings and bowled Otago out for just 7.  Now imagine how those statistics would go down; one might even get a call up!  Are you up to that example Willows?

The match tomorrow is a neat event because it touches on two things that are important to New Zealanders - sport and young people.  It is an opportunity to foster and nurture cricketers of the future, the Blackcaps of tomorrow, by pitting them against some of the best former New Zealand players. 

For my Youth XI, it is the honour of playing against some world-class cricketers, and an opportunity to hone your skills, to test your limits and to learn from those who have been at the top-levels in the game.  Facing some of our most canny bowlers and bowling to some of our legends is an outstanding prospect!  For The Willows side, it seems to me to be an opportunity to firstly show there is still some kick in the old horse, much like Lord Cobham!   I expect the prospect of a late call up may well be pushing it, but “Two-metre Peter” Fulton is showing the value of his experience.  But mostly, the game tomorrow and this dinner tonight provides you with the special honour of helping to shape the future of New Zealand cricket, our cricketers of the future. To both sides, the most important thing is in the realisation that with cricket, competition can be fun, and I hope it will be that tomorrow.

Tonight gives me the opportunity to thank The Willows Cricket Club for the work you do in encouraging first eleven secondary school players to stay with the game, to play with and against some of our current and former top cricketers.

Investing in the development of our youth is a very worthwhile activity.  It is my delight to support this initiative which allows a talented young side to experience playing against a world-class team in a special venue.

Finally, to my Youth XI – it is up to you to make your luck tomorrow, and to showcase the skills and talent that put you both into this team, and into your respective Colleges’ first elevens. As potential Blackcaps, you have an exciting road ahead! Enjoy tomorrow and remember that whether you emerge triumphant, or defeated, it will be a fantastic opportunity to develop your own skills, and to learn from some great New Zealand cricket players.

May the best team win – and of course by that I mean, may my team win!

Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.